Concubine Rong wept with joy when she knew she was pregnant. She had looked forward to a son for so many years, but she didn't expect the child to come after she had given up hope.
She touched her belly and said, "Son, you're mother's little lucky star." She would have been sent to the temple if the child had not arrived in time.
Yujing, who didn't think much about her future brother, asked, "Mother, what should we do now?" The immediate task was to solve the present matter.
Concubine Rong sighed slightly. "During this time, we will recuperate in Pleasant Courtyard." Having the child was equivalent to having a talisman, but she also knew that if she dared to borrow the child to do anything, the Old Lady might not touch her now, but she would undoubtedly seek her revenge after the child was born.
Yujing was unwilling. "Mother, I am one head short of them in status. If I lose this chance again, I will not be able to stand up in front of them."
Concubine Rong poked Yujing's head, hating iron for not becoming steel[1]. "You regret it now? What did you say when you were asked to do your homework well earlier? It's too late for you to feel remorse now." If it was not for Yujing's constant complaints from morning till night and even expressing her desire to quit due to illness, how would she not come up with such a plan?
While mother and daughter were talking, they saw Mama Luo come over. Mama Luo was also the kind who did not like to talk nonsense, so she directly took away Concubine Rong's two close maids and her beloved mama.
Concubine Rong's face turned ghastly pale, but she didn't dare to confront the Old Lady. Now that the Duke was no longer as protective of her as before, she decided to keep a low profile. Moreover, the most important thing now was the child in her belly.
When Yuxi saw that only she and Yuchen were in the class the next day, she wondered whether Yujing also withdrew from the course through illness. No, she wouldn't have. When Yuxi saw her yesterday, she was still full of vigour. Moreover, Yujing was different from Yuru. Yuru couldn't keep up with the learning process, while Yujing had been doing well recently.
With Yuxi's mind filled with many questions regarding this, she immediately asked Hongshan after class ended.
Hongshan's eyebrows and eyes were all full of happiness. Now that Second Miss had left, she could no longer bully her Miss. "Miss, yesterday, Concubine Rong fell ill. The Second Miss waited on her all night and got sick from fatigue. "
Yuxi doubted the truth of the news very much. Yujing's temperament was unlike a filial daughter who could wait on people without sleeping all night. "How did Concubine Rong fall ill?"
Hongshan shook her head. "I don't know. The Old Lady asked Concubine Rong to come over with Second Miss yesterday evening. It was said that Concubine Rong had been seen carried out. A physician also came not long after." The mouth of the Old Lady's maid, that old woman, seemed very tight, like a clamshell. She could not find any helpful information, but this news was still coming from that old woman of the Old Lady's courtyard.
Yuxi thought this matter wasn't as simple as it seemed. "Did the Old Lady meet anyone before calling for Concubine Rong and Er Jie[2]?"
Hongshan thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, Teacher Song did go to see the Old Lady."
Yuxi understood that Teacher Song perhaps had uncovered her Er Jie[2] cheating acts. She was somewhat puzzled. She could see that something was wrong with it, so how could a person as fierce as Teacher Song find out about it only now? And what with this illness excuse? If she guessed correctly, Concubine Rong's illness was fake, but it was confirmed that it was used to cover up for Yujing.
Yujing wouldn't be coming, so, Yuxi and Yuchen were the only two students left in the class. By this time, Yuxi would not want to hide her weaknesses anymore. Once her weaknesses were exposed, Yuchen would compare her to dregs, where she would still be considered inferior. Even if she worked hard, she could only draw with Yuchen. She knew, however, that Yuchen had to practice qin and paint in her spare time. In contrast, she had become a foil.
Yuxi did not know that her performance at this time startled Teacher Song. She thought Yuxi couldn't keep up with the progress and was still wondering how long Yuxi would last. She didn't expect Yuxi to give her another big surprise.
When the school holiday came, it happened to be raining.
Yuxi stood at the door, looking at the pearl-like raindrops that drifted down from time to time, muttering, "It's hard to get two days off, and now it's raining." There were two days off in one month, stipulated by Teacher Song, for students to relax. Of course, Yuxi could not relax. As soon as one relaxed, one would probably be unable to keep up with the progress.
Embroidered shoes got wet easily on rainy days.
Mama Shen said, "Miss, let me carry you over!" Misses from prominent families were very delicate. If a four-year-old girl went shopping or something, she needed to be held by someone all the time.
Yuxi was unwilling. "No need, I'll walk by myself." She was not a four-year-old but was already in her twenties. How could she let them carry her? It would also be a very awkward situation for her.
When Mama Shen saw Yuxi's firm attitude, she took a step back. "Miss, no matter how careful you are, it's a quarter of an hour's walk from the Rose Courtyard to the main room, and your shoes will always get wet. If Miss suffers cold, it is a sin of this old servant. Miss, let this old servant carry you over!"
Moju, who noticed that Yuxi was still unwilling, said, "Miss, if your clothes get wet, then the Old Lady will surely blame us for being careless."
Yuxi also did not know where the Old Lady's interest came from. Yesterday she was ordered to go to the Old Lady's room for breakfast today. Otherwise, she wouldn't have to go out if it rained today. She thought for a moment and said, "Mama is getting older; let Hongshan carry me on her back." Hongshan was the Old Lady's maid. Now, she couldn't leave her behind when visiting the Old Lady.
Yuxi lay on the back of Hongshan, and Mama Shen was holding a blue cloth umbrella beside her. Walking in the drizzle, she couldn't help reaching out to touch the rain. It was ice-cold.
When Mama Shen saw that situation, she hurriedly said, "Miss, don't play with the rain. You'll catch a cold." It was easy to catch a cold in this weather. Miss' health was no better than before, and she was still taking the tonic prescribed by the doctor every day!
Yuxi replied with a smile, "I'm not so delicate." Since she studied with Teacher Song, the Old Lady's attitude towards her had been getting better and better. She was not acting like a four-year-old, so the Old Lady must have thought about the reason behind such a significant change in her attitude. However, given her current situation, she had no choice but to counter soldiers with arms and water with earth weir[3].
When she arrived at the main room, the Old Lady didn't show much enthusiasm, which relieved Yuxi. If the Old Lady suddenly had a deep affection for her, like towards her other grandchild, she didn't know if she could stand it.
A maid named Cuiyu came in and said, "Old Lady, the breakfast has been prepared, and it's ready to be eaten. "
The breakfast was rich, with glutinous rice congee, xiaolongbao, crystal shrimp dumplings, lily pastries, plum blossom pastries, spinach, crispy ginger, pickled ginger cucumber and other six side dishes, as well as a bird's nest and Xinjiang mushroom chicken soup.
Yuxi saw so much delicious food that her stomach began to growl. She also didn't know if it was because of the shadow left by her previous life, but she couldn't go hungry after she was reborn.
The cook for the main room was definitely the best in residence. The taste of the things made here was much better than that from the main kitchen; even Mama Fang's cooking couldn't compare.
When the foods were delicious, one would tend to eat more. Yuxi ate a bowl of glutinous rice congee, two small steamed buns, six crystal shrimp dumplings, not many side dishes, and finally drank a small bowl of mushroom chicken soup.
While Yuxi was eating, the Old Lady looked at her more than once, and at last, her frown was so wrinkled that it could kill two flies[4]. "Fourth Girl, do you see how your San Jie[5] uses things?" If such a hungry ghost's action had been seen by those who didn't know what happened in the residence, they would think that the people here had mistreated Yuxi.
Yuxi was just focusing on eating where she would have the time to pay attention to Yuchen. Now with the Old Lady's reminder, she could not ignore them.
Yuchen ate slowly, chewed her food well before swallowing them, and her chopsticks moved elegantly while picking the food. True acts of a great lady.
Yuxi was somewhat discouraged in her heart. She even became a foil for just having a meal. She didn't know till when her days as a foil ended.
Once they finished the dishes, a maid brought in a bowl of goat milk egg custard. Yuxi felt regret. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have eaten so much till she was full. At first glance, the goat milk egg custard looked delicious. Although she was very full, she still took a bite. There was no way she wouldn't try it! If she hadn't been stared at by the Old Lady, she would like to finish the goat milk egg custard. It was delicious.
Old Lady Han couldn't help asking, "Are you so unrestrained like this during your daily meals?" She didn't know how Mama Shen served, nor did she know how to advise the Fourth Girl.
Yuxi shook her head. "No, but today's foods are delicious, so I couldn't help eating more."
Old Lady Han's face eased up, and then she said, "In the future, attention should be paid to the fact that even if the food is delicious, it must be eaten in an appropriate amount. Overeating is not good for your health." She was very particular about keeping good health. Otherwise, she wouldn't have maintained hers so well.
Yuxi honestly agreed.
After breakfast, Yuxi was going to leave the main courtyard. Yuchen came out and said to her, "Si Mei[6], I'm going to visit my maternal uncle's house tomorrow. Come with me!" Yuchen's maternal uncle was the Marquis of Pingqing. Now, he was the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, a powerful and essential minister.
Yuxi was unwilling. "San Jie[5], I can't; I want to take these 2 days to review my lessons. Otherwise, I'm afraid my hand will be hit again." Fortunately, nowadays, Teacher Song hit people just for show. It was not that painful, but she still felt quite embarrassed.
Yuchen did not insist; she just smiled and said, "All right."
The Old Lady heard Yuxi refuse Yuchen's invitation; with her hands holding the Buddha beads, she said to Mama Luo beside her, "This girl's mind is too deep. Let Old Woman Shen take a good look. If there's something wrong, immediately tell me."
So, Mama Luo became busy.
Yuxi only went to the master courtyard twice this month and every time she came and went in a hurry. This time, she had time to accompany Qiu Shi for a long time.
Then, Liuyin came in and reported, "My Lady, Concubine Rong said she has a stomach ache, so she said she needs a physician." Concubine Rong's pregnancy had not been publicised, but it still could not escape Qiu Shi's eyes. Just because the Old Lady didn't let the news be disclosed to the public, she didn't dare to make a move either.
Yuxi looked at Qiu Shi's expression, stood up and said, "Eldest Aunt, I still have a lot of schoolwork to do, so I'll go back first."
Within the time Yuxi left her home, the day had stopped raining. She said to her maids and old women, "Let's take a walk in the garden." The garden must have been more beautiful after the rain.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: to feel resentful towards somebody for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement
- er=second, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- Chinese idiom: to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
- T/N: I don’t quite understand this part. I just know that the Old Lady was frowning heavily
- san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- si=fourth, mei=younger sister, short form for Meimei
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi